1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a process for obtaining an aqueous butter flavor, the flavor composition resulting therefrom, and foods such as low calorie syrups containing the flavor composition.
2. The Prior Art
Consumers are becoming more calorie conscious. Yet, they do not wish to forego their favorite desserts and syrup toppings. Instead, they demand foods of lower calorie content that still retain the flavor and feel of the more weighty traditional high caloric foods. These needs have been recognized by the food industry. In particular, with regard to the present invention, there has been sought a low calorie syrup having the taste of real butter.
Full calorie syrups with butter taste traditionally have incorporated actual butter within the syrup composition. In low calorie syrups, with their high water content, there unfortunately arises problems when butter is sought to be formulated therein. Though butter is substantially insoluble in all syrups, when blended in lower calorie syrups unacceptable cloudiness results. Consumers desire their syrups to be clear.
Phase stability problems have been noted in U.S. Pat. No. 4,528,205 when small amounts of butter were incorporated into a reduced calorie syrup. The patent overcomes the instability problem by formulating the product with a thickener mixture of alginate and clarified xanthan gum. A disadvantage of this approach is the inflexibility of the formulation with regard to thickener and does not solve the adverse cloudy appearance. Combinations of alginate and clarified xanthan gum will provide one type of mouthfeel to the exclusion of different, perhaps more preferable, mouthfeel imparted by other thickener systems.
Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a real butter flavor for reduced calorie syrups which provides clear compositions and avoids the requirement of a particular thickener system.
Another object of this invention is to provide a process for preparing an aqueous soluble butter flavor prepared from real butter having acceptable phase stability and organoleptic properties.
A further object of this invention is to provide a reduced calorie syrup with a clear appearance having the taste of real butter.
It is also an object of this invention to employ the aqueous soluble butter flavor in foods other than syrups such as margarines and low fat spreads.